Super Windows: Can We Wait?

Hi, this is a short post to follow up on our discussion of windows and various strategies including interior treatments, restoration of existing windows and sash replacement by professionals. The aesthetic character of older windows is a strong factor for some folks who live in older houses, especially those with the finer qualities of historic architecture. If you've got natural wood siding, lovely old brick chimneys, and historic Federal or Victorian trim details, you might feel the loss of beauty if a window company blows through your house (the pun is fully intended) installing white vinyl monsters. Especially if, as we cautioned in the last post, you wind up not addressing the draft-susceptible framing and trim that remain in place around your new replacement sashes.

Window technology is on the march. Eco Home Magazine catalogues a series of futuristic window models that will be available or already are being sold. Each is a significant departure from traditional window construction, and each has a significantly higher performance profile than you can get from a run-of-the-mill replacement window or a contractor-grade complete window package. Follow the links on the page and tell me what you think. Super-insulative glass composites, new metallic coatings, and wood composite sashes and frames all improve the performance of windows by small steps until the numbers (R5-R15 !!) dwarf the performance of even new off-the-shelf conventional windows. I admit it makes me drool a bit. All the same, I've been choosing conservative Andersen mid-price windows in my own remodeling project. When we add the performance of the contractor-grade window to that of the window treatments we use, the energy numbers satisfy us, and the price (under $500 average per window) works well with our project budget.

Should we hold up on our window projects to let this technology catch up? No, I don't think I can wait. I want my house done before I leave the planet, and my wife would like it done a little sooner than that. But if you're thinking a few years down the road, and you expect to be able to pay up the scale a bit when you do your project, the pace of progress may be in your favor.

Note well, you who see yourselves as potential replacement window candidates, that new window technologies do find their way into the replacement industry, but always after they've been tried and approved in new construction and remodeling. So your crack at super windows will come last, as it were. Also note that if you pursue restoration options, you may have the opportunity to seal up the surrounding frame and trim that I've been banging on about, and your degree of improvement in energy performance will go significantly higher.

And here's another wry twist to the logic of restoration. Once you've removed the exterior trim from an old window, you're often only a few nails away from being able to install a new complete window, sometimes without disturbing your interior walls and trim. It doesn't always work, but I've enjoyed breaks like that in working on my own house; old window out, new window in, some jamb fillers to mate up to interior trim, and you're on to stain or paint, with minimum fuss and no blood on the floor, so to speak. Have a discussion with your remodeling contractor, and see if he/she agrees.

These are small points, I admit, but I want you to feel empowered, not trapped, if you're considering doing something about your old windows. I've done replacements, I've done restorations, I've done surgical and full-on new window installations, and they're all effective in their special niches of usefulness. Your hard-earned cash should buy you three things, as we said before: beauty, comfort and energy savings. And the more of all three, of course, the better. Do your homework; make a smart choice for yourself; we wish you the joy of looking at your windows and feeling warm, safe and smug for years to come.